Twilight Edward's POV
by Insanely Clear
Summary: This is Twilight but from Edward's POV. I am really nervous, this is my first fanfic. I own none of it. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. ON HIATUS. Writing another Edward POV for Twilight Rewritten
1. First Sight

Chapter 1.

108 years old, and here I was. In high school, again. To make it worse, it was March, the middle of the semester. Great. Well on the bright side, I only had three more months of suffering until I could leave and welcome the summer break with open arms. But I wasn't quite as lucky as my "adopted" siblings. See, Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rosalie were seniors while I had decided to be a grade lower, making me a junior. A decision I was now regretting. Every day I was stuck here. Looking at the same wall. The same wallpaper. The same cracks. The same everything. Nothing could grab my attention in this school.

Not even Jessica Stanley, who was now peeking at me from the corner of her eye as she walked into the cafeteria. She stared at me with a look I knew far too well. Though I blocked out her thoughts, I still had to hide a laugh. She still wanted me, but she had no idea what would happen if my teeth got near that neck of hers. The though almost made me smile. But Jessica's stare stopped focusing on me and back on Bella.

Isabella Marie Swan, daughter of Chief of Police, Charlie Swan. Now living under his roof because of a new living arrangement made by her divorced parents. Bella was a petite figure, with chocolate brown eyes and a heart shaped face. I had seen this girl in the thought of every human being at this school. Boys were already worshipping at her altar while the girls figured out a way to use Bella's new popularity to their advantage. Including none other than the shallow Jessica. Jessica, Jessica, Jessica.

_ I'll introduce her to everybody_ Jessica thought excitedly. They sat down and Jessica introduced Bella to her to Jessica's friends. Eric waved at Bella from across the lunchroom. I scoffed, morons, I thought. Jessica's friends were impressed by the fact that she had the courage to speak to Bella, which was the exact thing Jessica had hoped would come out of this like introduction. I rolled my eyes. Scared of a mere human was beyond me, yet again, I was a vampire. As she tried to make conversation with seven strangers, I saw her see us for the first time.

She stared at us without fear in her eyes. Her emotions were so obvious it was like it was plastered on her forehead. She was shocked. She must have noticed the differenve between the five of us. She looked at us three boys, Emmett, then Jasper, and finally me. Then she looked at the girls, Rosalie, and then Alice. She looked at us as a group and could see we all looked exactly alike. We were pale. We had dark eyes because we haven't hunted in a while. She still hadn't looked away. Typical. She stared in awe this time as she realized how beautiful we were. Well in my mind, we were always beautiful to our prey, that's how we lure them in. She looked as if she was deciding something. None of us were actually looking at her. I could see her through the eyes of another human. Alice left with her tray of untouched food, and walked gracefully towards the exit. It got boring be in this lunchroom, even for any amount of time.

"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica. Jessica looked up to see what she had meant and looked in my direction. I turned my glance towards her, but my glance only lasted a fraction of second before I turned my attention to Bella Swan who was already looking at me. I looked away quickly, more quickly than she had. She dropped her eyes. Jessica giggled in embarrassment and looked at the table. just like Bella. Humans, I thought, they're all the same.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live..." she continued on by I blocked out the chatter. I turned towards my brother.

"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl the dirty laundry on the Cullens" I said. Emmett laughed. _I hope she lays it all down, _he thought.

"Barely," I laugh, " not even the slightest hint of scandal. To tell you the truth, I'm disappointed" I ended. _And this Bella girl, is she disappointed as well?_ he asked. To answer his question I seeked out the mind of Bella. What did she think of us? What did she think of Jessica's little rant? What did she see in this group of pale strangers?

It was kind of my responsibility to be the lookout for my family. I would check if any suspicion had been raised about us. I had to protect my family. Our secret could never get out. Better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes people would actually guess right. But as soon as they did we would disappear in the blink of an eye, never to be seen by them again.

I heard nothing. I was puzzled. _Had Bella moved? Was she still next to Stanley?_ That didn't seem to be the case because I heard Jessica still babbling to her about us. I looked over, feeling off. Again my gaze locked eyes with those pair of chocolate brown eyes. She was sitting in the same place, while Jessica still babbled on about us. She had to be thinking about us too. But again, I heard nothing, not even a whisper. She blushed as she was again caught staring at a complete stranger, or in other words, me. Her thoughts were clear on her face but why couldn't I hear them? I felt off again. I had never encountered this before. Was there something wrong with me? I felt fine. Terrified, I tried to hear harder. All the chatter I had been blocking in my hind hit me a ton of bowling balls.

_ Wonder what music she likes... maybe I could mention this CD..._Mike Newton thought.

_ Look at him staring at her, why? Why would he, he has half the girls already after him.. that lucky son of a ..._ Eric Yorkie.

_ ...So disgusting... every guy here staring at her, like she's even pretty_, Lauren Mallory was vicious.

But then one "voice" caught my attention. Angela Weber was thinking about homework and her upcoming tests. One of the only people who was not obsessing over Bella.

I could hear every last one of them except the one I wanted to hear the most. I heard her speak to Jessica in a clear voice, even is it was on the other side of the lunchroom.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?' she asked. She peeked at me from the corner of her eye. I was staring at her, frustration all over my face. She looked away quickly. I hoped to hear see what she thought through the communication she made with her eyes. Her mind however gave me nothing. I was disappointed, again. Her voice, though it was unfamiliar, should have come to me like the rest of the voices do.

_ HA! Like he would ever go for you. Honey, if he doesn't want me, he sure as hell not gonna want you, _Jessica thought.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are goo-looking enough for him" she sniffed. I had to turn my head away. I had to fight the smile bubbling up to my lips. These girls were lucky I wasn't attracted to them. If I got my teeth that close... I stopped the thought knowing exactly where it was gonna go.

But beneath the brief humor, I felt something else stirring inside me. Something I had never experienced except with my family. Jessica's thoughts were vicious and I felt the impulse to stand in between them and protect this Bella from Jessica's invisible thoughts. That's weird. I looked at Bella again.

Maybe it was just a instinct buried inside me. The strong for the weak. Bella looked very weak and fragile compared to the rest of her classmates. Her skin looked kinda transparent, as I could see the pulse of her blood through her veins. I couldn't concentrate on that. I was a "good" vampire. _Ha, good vampire._

There was a faint crease between her eyebrows that I don't think she was unaware of. Could I be any more frustrated? I could see she was uncomfortable. Who wouldn't be in the situation she was on? Surrounded by strangers, forced to make conversation, and becoming the center of attention in this tiny school. I could sense her shyness in the way her shoulders hunched over. But I could only sense, and see this discomfort. No thoughts were ever heard from this shy unexceptional human. I could hear absolutely nothing. But why?

Rosalie stood up taking me out of my inner arguement. "Shall we", she murmured. I looked away from Bella for what seemed like the first time in a long time. I didn't want to keep thinking about how much I wanted to hear her. I didn't want to develop any interest in what her thoughts had to say. When I read her thoughts- and I would find a way to do so- they would be just as boring and useless like the rest of the humans' here. It isn't worth the effort.

"So is the new girl scared of us yet?" Emmett asked, still waiting for me to respond. I shrugged. He wasn't that interested, so he didn't press me for information. My interest was fading right at this moment. We got up from the table and walked towards the exit.

Since Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were pretending to be senior they went off to their classes. And since I was playing a younger role, I headed off to Biology. This class was boring to me. Nothing could excite a person that had two graduate degrees in medicine. As I got into the class and to my table, I placed my books all over the place. I had this table all to myself. These humans didn't know why they were scared of me, but their instincts told them to keep away.

The room filled up with students the way it usually does. They all sat at their tables. I closed my eyes and took a breath as I prepared myself to go through another class. Since I had been thinking about her recently, her name caught my attention. Angela was thinking about her and just as she step foot through the door, Mike yelled, _YES!_

I tried to hear her thoughts again, nothing. She walked over to Mr. Banner. She had no choice but to sit next to me, poor thing. I cleared the table so she could sit next to me. Two things happened in the same second. She took her first steps towards me and I smelled her for the first time. Her scent hit my like a wrecking ball. I was stunned for a fraction of a second of the lure her blood had on me. And then it was over. I was the predator. She was the prey. I didn't see anything but just her and me. But I couldn't. There were about 20 other students in the room who would witness this great act of violence. I could kill them. It would take me about 20 seconds to snap every student's neck before my teeth were on her. Her scent flooded my mind and started to spread throughout my entire body. I wanted her so bad.

_Wait,_ I thought. If I killed her, I would expose my family for what we really were. I would show the inner animal that I had been hiding for so long. I would not only exile my family from Forks but I would shame them. This halted my mind for a couple of seconds. I could think straight for what seemed like seconds. But the animal wanted to come out and play. This had now become a war. Expose my family or not. That was the question. In that on hour, I had thought of about 100 ways I could lure her out of the room. To get her alone with me. She would comply. But I fought each back with thoughts of my family. My fists tightened and stayed that way for the entire period. Bella would occasionally sneak peeks at me. I must've looked like the monster I truly was. I could see myself in her eyes, which help me break free of the animal and concentrate.

My mind quickly registered the time. There was only about a minute left 'till I could leave. Leave and run. Run as fast as I could. Another thing registered in my mind. Nobody was dead. I had made it throughout the entire period and not a single life had been ended by the cruelty my hands would have inflicted. I sighed in relief. BIG MISTAKE. Bella's scent hit me harder than before. _Ring! Ring! _The bell rang. And with that I put as much distance between me and Bella before I turned around and completed my desires. I realized I had gone into the Main Office, when I decided what I wanted to do. I went over to the lady at the front desk. This woman always had a thing for me. In a way, it kind of disgusted me, but I couldn't help the effect I had on people. I asked if I could be switched out of the Biology to another science class. Any other science class. They could change my entire damn schedule, as long as Bella Swan and I were not in the same room.

She had to argue me. Couldn't she just do it? Jeez. I know she said something but I didn't hear her. Bella's scent choked me. My back stiffened. I turned around and saw her. Her back was pressed to the wall. It was only a short distance that I could claim in a fraction of a second. There was only one human here and her death could easily be taken away with a twist of my wrist. _No, Edward focus. _I looked at her for a second longer with hate-filled eyes for what she was doing to me. I turned back to the receptionist.

"Never mind then," I said hastily, "I can see that's it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." I turned without looking at the girl and disappeared out the door. Once outside, I felt better. Her scent had completely overruled my senses. I couldn't think straight, but now in the outside, I couldn't smell her anymore. I walked over to my car, where I would wait for my family. I had to leave. It was a must. I couldn't stay in a room with her without somebody dying. This had to be stopped. I decided to go to Carlisle where I would tell him my plans for escaping. I couldn't stay here. I had to leave. I just had to.


	2. I'm Leaving

Chapter 2.

The thirst that once had control over me was now starting to recede, but that still didn't change my mind. I had to leave. I would go up to the Denalis' in Alaska until I could clear my head and come up with a better plan then running away. I heard the final bell ring and got inside my car. As I waited for my family to come any minute now, I realized that they may not let me to go. What if they put up a fight? Surely, Carlisle would understand. The temptation is too much for me to handle. Any putting us at danger would certainly help my argument. I left my train of thoughts as I saw Alice and the others coming my way. Alice.

Alice had seen my plan as soon as I had decided it was the right thing to do. Had she told the others? By the look of their faces, it seemed that she hadn't, but by the look of her face, I could tell I wasn't in for a calm discussion. As my family got into my Volvo, Alice looked at me straight in the eye but then looked away. Maybe, she wasn't going to say anything to the others. Hopefully she wouldn't. That would only add fuel to the fire that I didn't want burning. If they found out from Alice instead of me, it would look as if I was abandoning them. But I wasn't, I truly was not. I just had to put as much distance as I could between the Swan girl and me.

_Why are you doing this? _Alice thought, _Well I know why you're doing it, but isn't there a better solution? Can't you just stay home or something?_

I thought about that, but then I saw the sight of Bella's blood on my hands. The temptation was still too great. I would find myself finding a reason to do it. I would find myself walking out the door and running to the girl whose blood would run down my throat.

_NO, _I thought. _I couldn't be the monster who took away the life of an innocent human being. She has done nothing to me to deserve it. It isn't her fault that she smells so mouthwatering. It was because of her parents. Maybe, I should pay them a visit. NO! _I shook my head so that I could concentrate on the conversation instead of the smell of her blood. I looked at Alice in the passenger seat for a millisecond, before I gave a short shake of my head.

I heard Alice sigh next to me. I took an unsteady breath. I was in for a whole lot of argument when the truth would be told.

As I drove on the curved dirt path road towards the house, I started to think about how I should start the conversation. _"Going to Alaska for a few days, don't wait up", _no, that was not going to work._ "I need to go out of town for a couple of days to… clear my head. See you soon", _that wasn't going to work either. I could be blunt. _"I want to drink Bella dry and the only way to stop myself is to go to Alaska. I'm sorry but it's the only way", _that could work. Alice's vision suddenly crossed my mind. Chairs would be thrown, fists would be raised, and voices would be angry. _No,_ I thought in defeat, _there has got to be a way to make this peaceful. _

As soon as we walked into the house, I had the sudden urge to turn around and go see Carlisle at the hospital and get this over with. I didn't want to be here when the bloodbath started. But since I knew there was no escaping it, I just let it out.

"I'm leaving. Bella Swan's blood has drawn me in so deep that I almost killed 21 people in an hour. The only way to avoid this is to go to Alaska a few days with our cousins, until I can come up with a better plan. I'm sorry if this pains you but I'm doing it to protect me. To protect us" I finished my mini-speech and prepared for the onslaught. I read their minds to get a better clue to was I was about to get.

_Leave…. One human life is okay, I guess. We can just disappear like we always do and…. _Rosalie thought. Only Rosalie would think such a thing. _ What? Leave us... Leave me. He's my favorite brother. He can't leave me. How dare he? We have too much fun and… _Emmett thought. Emmett was going to back her up and so was Jasper. Jasper, the newest member to our coven, was of course going to back her up. He had only endured this "vegetarian" lifestyle for a while. If he had the choice, he would kill Bella himself. The thought made my stomach hurt.

I looked at Alice. Alice was stuck. She didn't want me to leave, but she didn't want Bella dead either. I sensed warmth in her thoughts as she thought about Bella, and that's when I saw it. Bella's arm was over Alice's shoulders and they were laughing as if they were the closest friends in the entire world. Then, everything was different, but nothing had changed. Bella's arm was still wrapped around Alice but the only difference was that Bella looked paler. _Was she sick, _I thought. It was likely since Bella was very fragile. But then I truly saw Bella.

She moved with grace and elegance and she looked up. _NO! She couldn't. _Bella's eyes were red and she sparkled as she walked under a single ray of sunlight. _She was a vampire. _Well, not yet anyways. It was only a vision. A vision I was not allowing to happen. Though I hated Bella for what she was doing to me, making me run from home, she was still a human with a soul. I couldn't take her choices, her future away from her. _Or…is it really me? I had bitten her? Had I made the choice to cast her into eternal damnation? _I fought the thought. Of course, I wouldn't. Then who did? I looked at Alice again.

"No, she will never become one of us. I forbid it. She has a future, Alice. Nobody will take that away from her" I said. How silly I seemed. Fighting for the soul of a girl I despised. But I felt the time growing and knew the danger was getting closer the longer I stayed in this town and I knew the longer I waited, the bigger the argument was going to explode. I wouldn't let my family fight over this. I didn't want my family torn apart by the fate of a mere human girl. I sighed. I had to tell Carlisle anyways. I inched towards the door. I felt three glares pointed directly at me and one pair of indecisive eyes. I fled. It was the only thing I could do. I ran straight for Carlisle.

I told Carlisle the same thing I had told the rest of my family. He accepted it graciously as did Esme. But even though she had accepted my decision, I could still see the pain in her eyes as she watched me walk out of the hospital and into Carlisle's car. I would miss them, but I had to put them behind me. I had to go. I had to run from the inner monster that teared at my insides. I hit the accelerator and didn't look back.


	3. Alaska

Chapter 3.

As I drove up to Alaska, I began to wonder how Tanya Denali might react to my presence. A long time ago, Tanya had tried to… I don't know… seduce me, I guess. She wanted me, which was pretty clear. And with my ability to hear thoughts, I knew everything she thought about me. I winced. I hope she doesn't think my return there meant that I wanted her too. It was going to be a long couple of days.

It took me about a day to get up to the Denalis'. I drove up to the Denalis' driveway and parked the car. As I stepped out to the cold Alaskan air, I heard mumbles inside the house.

Edward… Tanya thought. I sighed. Like I had feared, Tanya thought I had come for her. Knowing she wouldn't admit it to my face, I wasn't about to go and bring it up.

"Carlisle called. He said that Edward would be here for a couple of days because of some blood problem" Kate said. Blood problem? This went way beyond that. I wanted to kill anybody that got in my way from sinking my teeth and sucking the life out of that girl. This was a vampire problem. I laughed under my breath. I heard Tanya's thoughts fall as she realized I wasn't here for her. I was here because of another girl.

I went over to knock the door, but us being vampires, they knew I was coming. They opened the door as I stepped onto their porch.

"Edward, how good to see you again, it's been a long time" Carmen said embracing me and allowing me to come in.

"It's only been three years, Carmen" I laughed. Three years was nothing to a vampire. I embraced my other cousins and saw Tanya standing a bit behind the rest of her family. I Walked over to her.

"Tanya, how lovely it is to see you again" I said. I extended my arms into an embrace. She accepted it graciously. After that, we all sat in their living room.

We talked for the first two days "catching up". I told them about my family and how they were doing and what they were up to. Then, the hard topic came up. The subject of my presence in this house was discussed. I told them about Bella and on how badly I wanted her blood.

"She sounds… mouthwatering" Kate said. I growled. Nobody and I meant nobody, was going to touch Bella. No one would ever get near a drop of her blood. Carmen defended herself immediately. She rose up her hands.

"I'm just saying" she said. I looked at her darkly from another fraction of a second before I knew where she was coming from. I laughed and they laughed along with me.

On my third day in Alaska, I decided to go out to the mountains to get some fresh air into my lungs and start to think about what I was going to do.

My family or me? I couldn't leave them in Forks and stay here for the rest of my existence. Hide from the girl until she died. That would be pathetic. What was I going to do? It occurred to me that had been here for hours when I heard of footsteps coming behind me.

"When I heard you were coming, I thought you were coming because of me. How silly, huh" she asked. She seemed to be over it, so I decided to speak my mind.

"It's just her. She has me here caged. I am handcuffed by my own nature. I don't know what to do" I finished.

"I think you should go back" she said. I looked at her. Was she serious? Did she really want me to risk my entire family and hers as well?

"Wait, before you jump to conclusions" she insisted. "I think that you should take all the necessary precautions first, like more hunting, more practicing on controlling yourself around her, and go back to her. It isn't first time blood is alluring to you. Just be more careful" she said.

I pondered over everything she had just said. Though I wanted to find a reason to show her that this plan didn't work, I realized… she was right. I just have to be super careful and have a better grip of my self-control. I could be around her until she leaves. We only had a bit of time left until we graduated and I doubted she would stay in Forks after that. Being in that town, I understood why anybody would want to leave.

I got up from the ground. Tanya smiled sensing a bit of victory. I laughed, and put my arm around her shoulder.

"You're absolutely right, cousin" I smirked. She rolled her eyes. We headed back to her house where I told her family good-bye. I got in my car and drove off knowing I was heading straight for the girl who could change my entire existence.


	4. It Was Time To Meet Bella

Chapter 4.

This was it. Today was my\y first day back at school from my trip to Alaska. I had hunted every day since I came back, morning and night. I had practiced how to reign myself in with help from Emmett. He knew how to get me angry and I had practiced how to fight the urge to kill him. Also, since my return to Forks, my family had filled me in on what Bella has been doing these last couple of days.

"She's noticed about every day that you weren't there. She would sneak glances in our direction at lunch. Her face fell a little each time. But it looks like she has gotten over it. She thinks you've dropped out and has gotten used to the fact that she now has a lab table all to herself in Biology. It's going to be a shock when she sees your face. Pretty funny actually" Alice laughed as she saw a vision of Bella seeing that I had returned.

I came back to the present. My family piled up into my car, normal routine. I drove off towards the school. I was a little nervous but I had confidence in my self-control. Alice looked at me.

_I haven't seen anyone die. I haven't seen you killing her, but I see something else. You're talking and smiling. Well isn't that a relief? Maybe that vision will come true. _Alice thought.

She was still holding on to that vision of Bella being a vampire. She wanted to be Bella's friend. She had seen it in her visions. I could accept that, but Bell being a vampire, never. My grip on the wheel got a little bit tighter and Alice didn't fail to notice that.

_It's not your decision anyways. It's hers. She chose to become one of us, to be a part of our family, so… _Alice stuck at her tongue at me. But I couldn't focus on that. Bella had chosen to become like us? That has to mean she knew what I was and that she had accepted that. I felt relief and horror at the same time. If it was difficult before, it was even more now. I just had to take everything a day at a time.

I drove into the parking lot and parked far away from Bella's truck. She wouldn't know I was here until lunch. That was good, the more time I had away from Bella, the better. But I still wanted to see her face as she realized I had come back. Whoa… that's weird. I had never longed for the look of a human before. I shook off the unfamiliar feelings.

The day went by easier than I thought. I saw Bella's face in the minds of others. She was smiling as she went through another day without me. I frowned a little. She was happy that I wasn't there. Hurt. I was hurt. Ugh… how weird I was with feelings today. I understood why she was happy. She no longer had to face my evil glare and my black monster eyes. She didn't have to be afraid of me anymore. _Just wait, _I thought, smirking.

The bell rang saying it was time for lunch. I perked up and smiled. It was time to see Bella. I swear my smile got bigger with every step I took towards the lunch room. I joined Alice, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie who were already at the lunch table. I forgot that it was snowing. How unlike me to forget something. This girl was doing strange things to me and we've never even talked. I came back into focus. Emmett threw a snowball he had been hiding. Rosalie glared at him. Alice had seen it coming and burst into laughter. Jasper joined her. Then everyone was laughing including me. Though I was contained by laughter, I noticed when Bella entered the lunch room. She was with Jessica and Mike, entering the lunch line. She looked at our table out of habit. She froze in place when she saw that I was here.

This is what I had been dying to see all day and satisfaction flooded through me. Jasper raised an eyebrow but I just laughed. I heard Jessica talking as she pulled Bella's arm.

"Hello? Bella? What do you want?" Jessica asked. Bella tried to get back in focus and looked down.

"What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.

"Nothing" Bella said. "I'll just get a soda today." She hurried to catch the end of the line.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," she said, her eyes would still refuse to look at me.

_She's sick, _Mike asked in his mind. Why was she sick? Now I was questioning her appetite myself. She looked at little dizzy and nauseated. Maybe she was sick. It didn't surprise me but it worried me a little.

It bummed me that Mike was the one asking her if she was okay rather than me. It bummed me out even more that I couldn't hear her thoughts. I would know what's wrong with her. _Ugh, _this was so frustrating.

Bella looked at me about five minutes after sitting at her table. She took in our scene. We were laughing. We had been throwing hidden snowballs at each other. Alice and Rosalie were glaring at Emmett as he leaned in with his snow covered hair. I saw, from another person's mind, that Bella was looking me over. It looked like she was trying to determine something. She was so distracted that she had no idea Jessica was talking to her.

"Bella what are you staring at?" Jessica asked her, looking at me. There and then did I decide to return Bella's stare. Our eyes only met for a second before her chocolate brown eyes looked down as her hair covered her face. _This is just like the first day she was here. Embarrassed that she was caught looking at me, again. _Even though Bella had stopped staring at me, Jessica was still at it.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you" Jessica laughed into her ear.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella asked.

"No, should he be?" Jessica asked confused. I shared the same feeling._ Angry? Why would I be angry at her? She must be thinking about how I looked at her in Biology the first day she was here. I wasn't angry. If anything, she should be angry at me. Not only did I leave her without a lab partner, I made her think that she was the reason I had left. Which was exactly it, but I didn't want her to feel down on my behalf. Another thing, too. I had looked at her with such hate that day; no human would ever understand it. I was such a horrible person._

"I don't think he likes me" Bella said shaky. She put her head down on her arm. Her health was starting to become alarming. I didn't know what to do. Caged, handcuffed again by my own nature. Damn.

"The Cullens don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you" Jessica said. I was? I was so engrossed in Bella's every move that I had forgotten, again, that I was staring at her. I looked away but never lost my focus on Bella.

"Stop looking at him" Bella hissed. Jessica laughed but looked away. _Finally._ Bella lifted her head and I was relieved that she was strong enough to do that. Mike started talking about a snowball fight he was planning afterschool. Bella kept silent about that one. For the rest of the hour, I kept my focus on Bella. She didn't look at me once.

When the bell rang, Bella got up and Mike joined her. _Stupid Mike is always following her. He is one love-sick puppy. Idiot, _I fumed. I watched as she walked towards the door. I looked out the window; it had stopped snowing and was now raining. Everyone groaned mentally and physically. I looked at Bella; she pulled her hoodie up. And I swear I saw a smile on her face before she stepped out into the rain. What an interesting creature she was.

I got up and looked at Alice. She smiled at me as her vision of me smiling and talking once again filled her mind. I smiled in return. This was going to be an interesting hour. It was time to go to Biology. It was time to meet Bella.


	5. She Was So Damn Interesting

Bella arrived to class before I did. I was relieved. I had to prepare before I came face to face with the girl whose blood tortured me. Before I stepped into the classroom, I took a deep breath. This would be the last breath I would take until Biology hour is over.

As I walked into the classroom, I saw Bella doodling on her notebook. Just killing time. I wondered is she was nervous to sit next to me after that one frightful day.

I carefully sat down in my chair. I intentionally made my presence known by making noise. Bella didn't look at me; she continued doodling. I had to talk to her. This was it.

"Hello" I said quietly. I was watching her every move and reaction carefully. But the thing I was most paying attention to was her eyes. She looked up. I smiled slightly at her. Her eyes showed shock. She was shocked. But why? Because I was talking to her? Or maybe because I wasn't staring at her with hate? Not being able to hear her thoughts was getting more frustrating by the minute.

"My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan" I said. She seemed confused. I didn't know why.

"H-how do you know my name?" she asked. What a silly question. The entire town knows her name. Of course I would too.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive" I said with a matter-of-fact tone. She grimaced. She had to be expecting that, right?

"No," she persisted. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?" she asked. Okay, now I was confused. She had corrected everybody who called her Isabella. Was I any different? Was I going to be forced to call her Isabella?

"Do you prefer Isabella?" I asked.

"No, I like Bella" she said. _Then why...?_ "But I think Charlie - I mean my Dad - must call me Isabella behind my back - that's what everyone here seems to know me as" she explained. _Oh, because we haven't met, I was supposed to call her Isabella. Since she didn't know that I could read minds, she wouldn't know that I knew that she preferred Bella. _

"Oh" I said. I dropped the subject feeling like an utter moron. Bella looked away awkwardly. This had to be going well due to the fact that nobody was dead yet, especially not Bella. Mr. Banner started the class. We were going to label unknown slides by the phase of mitosis it was in. We couldn't use our books. Like I needed it. He would come around in twenty minutes to see how we were doing. He told us to get started. Okay, I was going to let her go first.

"Ladies first, partner?" I asked. The word partner rolled off my tongue. It felt right somehow to be talking to her. I smiled. Bella looked at me and stared. Why was she staring at me? I wasn't being menacing in any way. I didn't get it. My smile was fading and was being replaced with confusion and frustration.

"Or I could start, if you wish" I said.

"No, I'll go ahead" she said. She blushed. I had to look away. The sight of blood would not help me at all in this situation. As soon as I could control myself I looked back at Bella. She studied the slide briefly.

"Prophase" she said with confidence. Since she was human, I had to make sure.

"Do you mind if I look?" I asked. She was starting to remove the slide. I had to stop her, so I grabbed her hand softly, keeping in mind that I could crush her wrist if I wasn't careful. I felt electricity running through us. It went down to my core. But she jerked her hand away quickly. What did I do? I realized my fingers were ice-cold. _Idiot! Always messing up. This is the second time in ten minutes. I have to apologize, now._

"I'm sorry" I muttered pulling my hand back immediately. But I still had to check the slide, so I reached for the microscope. She watched me as I examined the slide. She was right, it was prophase. Wow, surprisingly smart for a human, not like the others who were using their books.

"Prophase" I said. I wrote it down and changed the slide quickly. I glanced at it. It was anaphase.

"Anaphase" he muttered. I was being awfully quiet now. She was observant. I didn't like that. I wrote the answer down. As I was about to change to the next slide, Bella interrupted me.

"May I?" she said indifferently. She thought I was wrong. _Ha, I have to degrees in medicine and I have lived 108 years. There was no way I was wrong, but I was going to humor her. It would be funny to watch her face as she saw that I was right._ I smirked and pushed the microscope towards her.

She looked into the microscope and seemed a little peeved when she saw that I was right. Well, I wasn't going to get the answer wrong. But yet again, she didn't who I was, she didn't what I was.

"Slide three?" she held out her hand without looking at me. Why wasn't she looking at me? Probably didn't want me to see how disappointed she was. I laughed internally. I gave her the slide and made sure not to touch her skin. That electricity that when through me when I touched her was weird. It was beyond weird. But what isn't weird about my life.

Bella looked into the microscope and tried to take the quickest peek. Was she trying to beat me? Was she trying to look smarter than me? I shook my head in laughter.

"Interphase" she said passing me the microscope. She seemed so confident in her answer. She was probably right. I took a swift peek and then wrote it down. She looked at our lab sheet. It had all my writing on it. In that moment I felt bad. Maybe she had probably wanted to write on it. We were partners after all. Jeez. I just keep getting worse, don't I? We were finished before everyone. I had to talk to her. Talking to her made me feel a little better inside. Thoughts of conversation starters flooded into my mind. Before I could start anything, Bella looked at me. I stared back at her. What is she thinking? _Ugh._ Frustration was once again my main emotion.

"Did you get contacts?" Bella blurted out. What? I didn't get contacts. Why would she ask that? This is so confusing.

"No" I answered.

"Oh" she mumbled. That was it? It couldn't be… there had to be a reason behind the question. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."

My eyes? Nothing has changed except… Oh my God. My eyes. The last time I saw Bella my eyes were black and now they're topaz. She had noticed. She noticed everything. Mistake after mistake. I should just leave the state now while I could. Bella was still looking at me.

I shrugged and looked away from the eyes that had all the answers and all her emotions. I was making too many mistakes. Idiot, I fumed. My hands clenched into fists. Mr. Banner came distracting me from my internal onslaught of insults.

"So, Edward, didn't you think that Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" he asked me. Of course I did. I even let her go first. And you got Bella's name wrong like every other human.

"Bella" I corrected. "Actually, she identified three of the five. Mr. Banner looked at her as he finally started to realize where her intelligence was. _Was she in advanced placement? Has she taken this lab before?_ Mr. Banner thought. I was thinking the exact same thing. I looked at Bella waiting for answers. Realizing now that those answers wouldn't come because the questions haven't been asked, yet.

"Have you done this lab before?' he asked. I looked into Bella's face as she looked at Mr. Banner. She smiled sheepishly. A little smug that you've done this before, huh Bella?

"Not with onion root" she answered.

"Whitefish Blastula?" he asked more intensely.

"Yeah" she answered in return. Mr. Banner nodded to the thoughts in his head.

"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?" he asked.

"Yes" she said.

It took him a moment. She was an intelligent human being. He was lucky to have her.

"Well, I guess it's good you two are lab partners" he said. "Now two students can be top of the class instead of just Edward alone" he mumbled under his breath. After he walked away, Bella began to doddle again. Did she not want to talk or look at me? Was she ignoring me? I had to get her speaking again. I thought about the conversation starters again. How about that smile she had when she walked into the rain after lunch? What was that about?

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it? I asked. She looked at me. As I searched for the answers in her eyes, she responded.

"Not really" she answered honestly. So she didn't like the snow. I knew it.

"You don't like the cold" I said.

"Or the wet" she responded. What? That didn't make any sense. If she hated the cold and the rain so much, why did she come to the wettest place in the continental U.S?

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live" I mused.

"You have no idea" she said darkly. I had no idea. How could I have an idea? I can't read her mind. I cannot decipher her thoughts. If it was a really difficult place to live, then why was she here? Why had she come?

"Why did you come here, then?" I asked, I just had to know.

She looked shock that I asked her, I apologized in my mind but continued to search for answers.

"It's complicated" she answered. That's it? I knew it had to be complicated. If she hated the cold and the wet, I don't think she would have come here on her own terms. There has to be more to this.

"I think I can keep up" I pressed. She paused. What was she thinking about? She had indecision in her eyes as she looked at me. Looking into my eyes, she blurted out the truth.

"My mother got remarried" she said. So that was it.

"That doesn't sound so complex" I disagreed with her earlier statement. Her mother had gotten remarried. Her divorced parents. I knew what that was like. Not from experience, but I could feel it in the minds of those who had gone through the same thing. In simpler terms, it sucks. And not only were her parents divorced, her mom had gotten married to another guy. That must be rough.

"When did that happen?" I asked.

"Last September" she answered sadly. She was sad. I went into protective mode. I wanted to protect her from anything that made me feel this way. I didn't move an inch. I couldn't. She must not like the guy; maybe he was mean to her. The very thought of anybody being anything but kind to Bella got me angry.

"And you don't like him" I surmised. That's why she moved here.

"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough" she said. I stared at her. So her stepfather was nice to her. Then, what else could it be? This human is so fascinating. Why, was the question I have been asking this entire time.

"Why didn't you stay with them?" I asked.

"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living" she said. Oh, now I got it. I think. So since her stepfather traveled a lot, her mother wanted to go with him. But since she can't leave Bella on her own, she sent her here so she can travel with him. That was complicated. Her stepfather plays baseball?

"Have I heard of him?" I asked. I had to smile because I have finally figured out why she was here.

"Probably not. He doesn't play _well_. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot" she responded. It was time to test my assumption.

"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him" I said. Bella responded defensively. I said something wrong. Damn it. I hoped I was close. Bella's chin rose up a fraction.

"No, she did not send me here. I sent myself" she said defensively. She didn't want to be seen as weak. Like she was here under her mother's orders. But now, I was more confused than ever. THEN WHY WAS SHE HERE?

"I don't understand" I said, looking down as my eyebrows knitted together. I hated the fact that I couldn't understand. The suspense was killing me. All my assumptions were wrong. I looked at here again, waiting for the explanation that would spare me from this misery.

"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy… so I decided it was time some quality time with Charlie" she said glumly after she sighed. She was unhappy with the fact that she wasn't with her mother but yet she was here so that her mother could be happy. Putting other people ahead of herself. What a selfless human being. Sympathy rolled off my body in waves.

"But now you're unhappy" I pointed out.

"And?" she challenged. And she didn't care that she was unhappy, as long as everyone was not. That wasn't fair.

"That doesn't seem fair" I responded. I shrugged it off like I didn't care. When, in fact, I did, a lot. I questioned my feelings again. Bella laughed without humor.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair" she said. No, it wasn't. Life was cruel and selfish. And above all, just plain mean. What have I done so horribly that my life has turned out this way? Why had Bella been thrown into my life? Why had my life become harder? Why was my life like this? Why? Because life isn't fair.

"I believe I _have_ heard that somewhere before" I agreed. So she's unhappy with being here but she stays here anyway so everybody can be happy, making her life unfair. But why doesn't she break? Why doesn't she frown or look depressed? Was she putting on a fake smile? Was she putting on a show for everyone? If she was, that means that inside, she was suffering. Was she?

"So that's all" she insisted. She looked as if she was thinking about something. What I would give to hear her thoughts right now. I decided to test out my latest theory.

"You put on a good show, but I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see" I said slowly, letting my theory sink into her mind.

She grimaced and I knew I was right. She was suffering. She didn't want to be here. It looked as if she didn't like me knowing the truth about her feelings towards Forks. Why? She looked away. No, don't look away, screamed in my mind. Your eyes are the only way I can see what you're feeling and guess what you're thinking. I needed her to look at me. I needed to see what her chocolate colored eyes have to say.

"Am I wrong?" I asked keeping my tone light. She ignored me. So I wasn't wrong. Finally, one of my many theories about her was right. So much work I had to put in to decipher her thoughts. She didn't want to answer my question. She didn't want to be seen as weak.

"I didn't think so" I murmured smugly. I was ecstatic that I had finally figured out something about her.

"Why does it matter to _you?_" she asked irritated. She definitely hated the idea of me knowing of her internal suffering. She still refused to look at me. I kept in mind that I hadn't answered her question. When, in fact I didn't know the answer.

"That's a very good question" I muttered quietly. I had been asking myself this question all period too. I didn't say anything else. I was lost in thought.

Why did I care so damn much? Why was I trying to figure this girl out? Why did her suffering ignite feelings inside me? Why did I want to protect her? Why did I care? But she's to share half of the blame for the raging war inside me. She's so interesting. She's so selfless. She surprises me. Maybe because I couldn't read her thoughts that I found her so damn appealing. Bella took me out of my train of questions when she sighed. I had been looking down this entire time; I needed to look at her. Her expression amused me. She was scowling at the blackboard. She was annoyed. Had I done that?

"Am I annoying you?" I asked trying not to laugh. She glanced at me. Finally! Her eyes held all the answers I wanted. She answered my question.

"Not exactly," she said. So I was annoying her in a way. She continued. "I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read- my mother always calls me her open book" she said frowning. I agreed somewhat. Her emotions were so clear on her face. Her eyes gave me all the answers I wanted. But I was still wrong about her three quarters of the time. I couldn't figure her out.

"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read" I said. Especially your thoughts.

"You must be a good reader then."

I was a good mind reader, except when it came to you. I can read every mind in this room, apart from yours.

"Usually" I smiled showing my teeth. I was happy I finally knew her, a little.

Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and Bella turned, with what looked like relief, to listen. I was relieved as well. All the talk had distracted me from her blood. Now that I had stopped focusing on figuring her out, her blood started to sing to me again. My lips quivered. The smell of her blood was starting to overpower me again. The monster wanted to come out and play.

I leaned away from the warmth radiating from her body. My hands ached to bring her neck to my teeth. I clenched my hands onto the edge of the table. I fought with everything I had the rest of the period.

Finally, the bell rang; I rushed out the door as I had on Monday. I couldn't be in the same room as her anymore. As I stepped into the fresh air, I went over everything that had just happened.

I met Bella. I talked to her. I looked into those chocolate brown eyes and saw what I wanted. And best of all, she wasn't dead. I forgot about Alice's vision. This forgetfulness was starting to bug the bejesus out of me.

I walked to my next class. Where does Bella go next? I looked into the minds of everyone until I finally found one focusing on Bella. Mike Newton. Newton was starting to get on my nerves. I listened intently as he talked to Bella. They were still in Biology.

_That was awful, they all looked the same. You're lucky to have Cullen for a partner,_ he groaned. He is such a baby and his statement was completely false. Bella wasn't lucky to have me as a partner. Just the opposite, she was unlucky. This statement was also wrong in another way. Bella was smart enough to know what we were doing. She was an intelligent human being.

"I didn't have any trouble with it" she snapped. _That's my girl,_ I thought. What the…? That was really weird. I shook off the weird and focused back on Bella. She was clearly hurt by his statement. He was underestimating her. She had to fight back against that idiot.

"I've done this lab before though" she added. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. Selfless as always.

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today" he said._ A little too friendly. Who does he think he is to be talking to my girl?_ Okay, now wait a minute. First of all, she isn't your girl. And second of all I could talk to her all I want. I understand her on a level you will never understand. I know what she's going through. I know how unhappy she really is. I can be cautious around her feelings. ME, not you. Where was all this coming from?

Bella tried to sound indifferent as she replied to his layered statement.

"I wonder what was with him last Monday" she said. _You have no idea,_ I thought darkly. This brought me to amusement. I sounded exactly like Bella when I had told her that Forks was a difficult place for her to live. I thought the exact same words with the exact same tone. Wow, I mused.

I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as they waked to gym, and them in P.E just got me more frustrated. Mike was on Bella's team today. I fumed. He held a protective stance in front of her so she didn't have to hit the ball. That is supposed to be me. My eyes narrowed. When it was Bella's turn to serve, I saw her team duck warily out of the way. Yeah, I don't think this type of activity was best suited for her. I chuckled internally.

The bell rang. I looked up. I had learned absolutely nothing. I was so engrossed in Bella's whereabouts and actions that I had forgotten I was in English. I walked out of the classroom as Ms. Ryan gave me a disappointed look. I apologized mentally.

I walked to the parking lot and then to my car. I leaned against the front door of my Volvo and waited for my family. I was always the first one here. I saw Bella walking to her car. She was only three cars away. She seemed happy when she got into her truck. Her truck came from my era, I laughed. She unzipped her jacket and put the hood down. She fluffed her damp her. Thank God I couldn't smell her, because if I could… I looked down for a second to control myself. I looked back up.

Bella looked around her and she saw me. She had caught me staring at her, again. She looked away and quickly fumbled as she put her truck into reverse. She almost hit the car behind her when she stomped on the brakes. I started laughing. Jeez, just looking at me got her into a mess. I put my palm on my face and shook my head in laughter. She was too much. I heard Bella's truck coming. I looked up but continued to laugh. She refused to look at me as she drove straight ahead.

My family was heading in my direction. I got into the driver's seat but continued to laugh. They got in my car. My laughter was staring to fill up the car. Alice joined in already knowing what happened. The rest of them looked at me as if I had completely last my mind.

_He literally went crazy about her. He's completely mental,_ Rosalie thought looking into the window as I drove out of the parking lot. I rolled my eyes. My body started to fill up with excitement. I would see her tomorrow. I smiled as I hit the accelerator.


End file.
